Selling yourself to new clients

I will start by saying I attended a sales training course in the mid 70's, called the Xerox training course. The same training course was also used by the US Marine recruiters.

The main idea I want to pass on is the intial contact. Here it is.

The four "rights" of the customer.

1. The right to know you name; Hello, my name is Mike Dahms.

2. The right to know the name of your company; I am the owner of Onslow Recycling.

3. What your company does; My company recycles ewaste, or fire extinguishers or copper wire, what ever fits the customers needs.

4. The reason you are standing in their place of business; I'm here to determine if we need to do business, or be in business together, or can be of assistance to you.

Now many will not take this seriously but I assure you many so called professional salespeople can't get this right. Practice it a few times. Potential customers will like the fact you don't beat around the bush wasting their time. Its a sign of respect for the customer and its an easy to follow the four rights to start a sales call. I found it worked well for me recently.

I hope this will be helpful to some of our members, Mike.

Great post! Mike, It details in short order the exact steps that will get the ball rolling in your favor. Too many times we get set in our ways and just don't realize. On a similar note, I once attended an introduction to the Carnegie course, and although the course itself was too rich for my pocket, the introduction alone was well worth the time invested, even though I remember only one point made there. We had all arrived and found a chair, and when the speaker got up to announce they would begin shortly, he encouraged us to move about the room, greeting and introducing ourselves. After a few minutes, when he returned, and we all found our seats, he asked how many had returned to the same seat they had started in, virtually the entire crowd. Sometimes it takes some active thought, in taking the necessary steps to redirect ourselves, to other, and hopefully better places. Your points here are very good ones, that people should definitely put into practice. Thanks

I also went to many sales training courses over the years, here is one to remember.

The first word a person hears that he dosen't believe is the last word he/she hears.

lol olddude, that's good!

only thing i could add is collared shirt with embroidered name of company that look professional

And always treat a potential customer with respect and courtesy...it goes a long way.

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Originally Posted by BRASSCATCHER

And always treat a potential customer with respect and courtesy...it goes a long way.

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might be a good idea not to bump over the janitor on your way out the door either ; )

Also its helps to make them feel like you are doing them a favor

Treat every customer or potential customer like they are your only customer and you will be good.

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Originally Posted by skippy

Also its helps to make them feel like you are doing them a favor

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in most cases it seems like they feel they are doing you a favor, 'm afraid.

That's ok by me, pity equals $$$:)

About all I could add to this, miked, would be don't forget a good firm handshake, look em right in the eye, and smile!

Always skylinejack....thx every1

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Originally Posted by skylinejack

About all I could add to this, miked, would be don't forget a good firm handshake, look em right in the eye, and smile!

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I can't tell you how many times I have shook a man's hand and it was weak.

Especially if it's a big gruff guy and you're expecting a firm hand shake and it's like a little kid.

It bugs me.

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Originally Posted by IdahoScrapper

I can't tell you how many times I have shook a man's hand and it was weak.

Especially if it's a big gruff guy and you're expecting a firm hand shake and it's like a little kid.

It bugs me.

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kinda like grabbing a wet sponge ?

yeah i like the little 5ft 6in little guys with smallsyndrome that try to brake your hand

My dad always called it a limp fish handshake and he taught me how to properly shake a man's hand